Our topic in KS1 is called 'Rio de Vida' and is all about carnival and celebrations. To launch our learning we created flags using a Japanese art technique called 'Hapa-Zome'. This is translated as 'leaf dye'. The children collected leaves and flowers and used hammers to bash them on to cloth to create wonderful patterns. Their engagement and enjoyment was wonderful to see and it was lovely to be back in our beautiful School grounds. 

While you are at home see if you can carry on collecting crisp packets, toothpaste tubes,  boxes and toothbrushes ready to bring back to School. I wonder how many we can get?!

Spend some time outside in the garden today to appreciate the beauty of our natural world! 

Do send in your photos of your Easter celebrations, your eggs, flowers, outfits, trees, rolling...it will be lovely to share. Click here for all our Easter Eggstravaganza pictures from the past to inspire you.

Wonwell class then linked the learning to their 'Enchanted Woodland' topic and worked in teams to build fairy houses. They were totally engrossed with the activity, even building balconies and extra floors for them!

Mothecombe class took a Scientific approach to their learning and made their own charcoal. They used willow sticks which had to be peeled first and then placed in metal tins in the fire for an hour. We talked about what would happen to the wood inside and how it would change. We will use their charcoal to do some Artwork in the woods next week. Please click here to see more photos.

In the afternoon we looked at the art work of Andy Goldsworthy and how he uses the natural environment to create beautiful designs and sculptures. Please click here to see more photos.

On Wednesday we were delighted to welcome The Barn Owl Trust to School. Wonwell class joined the younger children for the morning as we had a talk from Mateo with Baley the owl. 

The children were captivated by the talk about Barn owls and how their natural environment has changed over the years due to development. Not a sound could be heard as Mateo lifted the lid of the box to reveal Baley!

The beautiful owl flew silently across the library where he sat and surveyed his surroundings. The children asked interesting questions and were engaged the whole time.

Our grateful thanks to the Trust for providing us with such a positive experience for the children. Please click here to see more photos. 

Wonwell class chose chocolate as their focus. They wanted to find out how long it would take for a piece of chocolate to melt on their hand. We talked about the importance of a fair test and decided that the way we held the chocolate, the size of it and being put on our hands at the same time were the most important things. 

One child wondered if they would be able to feel it as it melted while another thought it might get more bendy as it heated up.  They realised that one thing they couldn't control was how hot their individual hands were. One piece of chocolate was completely intact after 10 minutes while others had become liquid. Please click here to see more photos. 

We looked carefully at how they bring the characters to life and their different expressions. Then we followed instructions to make playdough and used it to make our own animals. We worked with Mr Armley-Jones using a computer programme to create short animations.

Later this week we will create a picture board and write a story about the adventures of our characters. Pease click here to see more photos.

In DT we made rice crispy cakes. We chopped marsh mallows and talked about how they are a solid but not hard. Mrs Mitchell melted butter with the marshmallows and we stirred the mixture with rice crispies. Then the chocolate was melted and drizzled over the top. We talked about how heat can turn a solid into a liquid and the cold fridge can make it a solid again. Please click here to see more photos.

Mothecombe class worked together to try and identify the types of trees surrounding our area. This is much harder to do in Winter as we don't have leaves to go by. They used a reference sheet and looked at the bark and buds to work out what they were.

Both classes wrapped bananas and chocolate chips in tin foil and cooked them on the fire. Please click here to see more photos.